Thor

Thor is based on the Marvel comics about the Nordic god of Thunder banished from the mystical land of Asgard due to his ignorance and foolishness to behave as a ruler, as opposed to a warrior wanting to challenge someone to duel every oppurtunity he got. I will be honest; I have never read a Thor or Avenger comic, but I do have a fair knowledge of Nordic mythology (thanks to my honors World History class project over Vikings). So while there is a void to the accuracy to the comics, I can compare to a certain extent about the depiction of Nordic mythology in the movie. My Dad is a big comic book nerd, so he is very familiar with the Thor comics, and tells me that the accuracy to the comics is almost identical. So, with that said, I will mainly be critiquing on the film quality, as to the film accuracy, per se. Now, I shall cease my rambling and begin with my movie review of Thor!!!

To be honest, I acutually was a little skeptical when I went to the early sceening of Thor with my Dad in late April. I just didn't think that a film about mythology and gods would appeal to me. I had just assumed that it would be any other superhero/comic book movie with villans and heroes beating each other to a bloody pulp, the villan loses, and the hero gets the girl...the end. What suprised me about this film was that even though it was a little predictable at times, it still left me on the edge of my seat the entire time. It had me continually guessing what Loki was up to with the Frost Giants, what Thor would end up doing, ect. Overall, this film was very unpredictable most of the time, which left me wanting to know how it all plays out.
Oh, I didn't necessarily answer my own retorical question! I came into the movie theatre skeptical and little worried. I left that movie theatre shocked with a big smile telling my dad, "That movie was awesome!!!"

Suprisingly, this movie was quite hilarious! Thor's demeanor and behavior when he comes to Earth and is confused with human life is just down-right funny. I was rolling in my seat pretty much half of the movie...then again, I laugh at almost anything. Nevertheless, Marvel did an excellent job of mixing humor into the film; a fine balance between action/comical/serious/ and superheroes.

The Nordic mythology was very accurate, I have to say. Now, I am not going to act like I am a history teacher and know every possible thing about Vikings and Nordic mythology, because I clearly do not. However, under my curiousity, I did a little research about Noridc gods and was very pleased with Thor's excellent depiction of Noridc mythology. For example, in the film if you noticed, Odin only has one eye, for the other has a patch over it. Well, according to Nordic mythology, Odin is depicted to have only one eye. So, just little things like that had me impressed. Overall, they were extremely accurate where mythology lied.

This film had a little bit of everything in it. It wasn't one of those typical superhero movies where if you have seen one of them, you have seen all of them. It has a combination of many different aspects that people of preferred movie styles would enjoy. If you are more of a die-hard romantic person, I would have to say that maybe this film wouldn't be for you. Yes, Jane Foster and Thor share a special love (if it is even love; he was on Earth for, what? Maybe a week...?), but since it was brief, maybe you should look else where. In speaking of their relationship, I was acutally kind of glad how they chose to end their relationship; it was one of those where they are in love, but they can't be together. It didn't end like most sappy romance movies where they go off riding into the sunset and all the conflicts just happened to work out and they live happily every after...posh. Well, they techincally didn't end their relationship, per se. He basically dumped her when he destroyed that bridge with that awesome hammer. So, oh well.
If you more of an action person, you would totally dig this film. Thor has epic fight scenes between gods v.s huge Frost Giants, which were quite impressive, if I do say so myself.
And, obviously, if have acutally read the Thor comics, you would most defintely love this film. My Dad tells me that it is exactly like the comics, so there is nothing to worry about going to the movies and seeing a total rip-off of the movies.

But besides that, the movie plot was very easy to follow, easy to understand, and just simply a great movie.
Chris Hemsworth was an excellent choice for Thor; he even looked like someone from the Nordic area, with blond hair and blue eyes. Besides his physical apperance, he just did an outstanding job as Thor. And I have to say, he didn't look bad at all without his shirt off.
Natalie Portman (Jane Foster) wasn't outstanding, and she wasn't terrible. She was good, don't get me wrong; but it just wasn't very rememberable and eyecatching. At times, she seemed a little too excited about all her research and studies...oh well.
Anthony Hopkins (Odin)....well, was Anthony Hopkins. He was very good, too, even for how short he was on screen.
Tom Hiddleston (Loki) was acutally one of my favorite acting performances. He did a fantastic job as the conflicted adopted son of Odin, trying to find his place amongst the gods.
Besides that, all the other minor characters, such as the gods, agents, and Foster's two friends, were also equally good. Foster's friend Darcy, was hilarous!

Overall, I coulnd't find anything wrong with this movie. It was just a very good film that I would recommend making the trip to the movie theatre to see for fun. Although its rating is PG-13, the action in the film wasn't that scary, and I do not recall hearing any suggestive language or cuss words. So this movie is totally child-approved. Simply, just a great movie! I cannot wait to see when the sequel hits theatres!! Well, there better be a Thor 2, because if they leave all millions of us viewers wondering if Thor and Jane every see each other again, there will be an uproar! Or just a lot of disappoited fans....who knows.

Movie Grade:        A !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

 

Oh, where shall I begin? Well, I guess I should say that it saddens me to know that the HP movie franchise is quickly dwindling away and finally ending when HP Part 2 hits theatres this July (which I am counting down the days till my Daddy takes me to the early screening!). After ten years and eight movies, HP will finally be off the big screen. It slightly depresses me because I love HP and have read all the books, and for many years has been part of my writing inspiration and a portion of my parents wallet spent on movies, the theatre, ect. Regardless, I am not here to wallow in my own self-pity and to waltz down memory lane that no one cares about.....I am here to give my honest opinion and movie review over HP and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1. So I will cease my aimless rambling and begin the critiqing!!!

First, I want to tip my hat to J.K. Rowling, for creating this fantastic book series! I am a writer as well, and love to write stories, and HP has defintely inspired me and has expanded my imagination for writing. In my opinion, no book series or novel, will ever compete or come close to HP! Harry Potter is in its own category, because it's just mindblowing how she was able to come up with this fantastic realm of HP at the top of her head! So, thank you J.K. Rowling for Harry Potter!

A brief summary of HP and the Deathly Hallows consists of this:
Harry, Ron and Hermoine are about to embark on a mission to find and destroy the Horcruxes, which are items in which Voldemort has concealed part of his soul. If he was to die, he could simply return to one of the seven Horcruxes he possess, and begin to live once again with that piece of his soul. With the usual running in's to Death Eaters and such, Harry finds himself conflicted with a desire to finish this once and for all, but also keeping everyone he loves safe from harm. The Deathly Hallows work their way into this story, by being 3 objects that appear to be of deep interest to Voldemort: the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone, and the Invisibility Cloak, which together, make one master of death. Death Eaters are on their tails, Voldemort is rising to power every minute, and hope is seeming to slowly descend away from our three heroes, in an epic battle to save the world from Lord Voldemort's grasp, in the last enstallment of HP. Now, the movie does not asscend past about this much, for the rest is to be revealed and discovered in Part 2, out this July! So, with this summary in mind, how shall it compare to the movie's version?

WOW. WHOA. OMG. HOLY COW. If I could list all the words related to these shocked phrases I would, but it would take up the entire review. That was my initial reaction when I finished watching the film. The film was excellently put together and stayed right on track with the book. It was very accurate and contained the scenes that needed to be in the film. The film was very intense, obviously, and even if you had read the book, you would still be on the edge of your seat. Just quite amazing! It got the basic point across, the special effects were very good, and overall, the film quality not including accuracy, was just phenomenal, in my opinion. It was just a very good film. This was probably the most precisely accurate HP to date. Why? Because they actually used alot of the book's dialog word-for-word into the book, and even used scenes exactly how it was in the book as well. I loved that about this film! On another note, I have to say that I was a little skeptical about a two part Deathly Hallow sequence. But after today, I believe that was the best choice for this adaption of the book, that way even the most minor of details could be seen! Brilliance!

Now, there are a few things that I want to say that may be a little petty because I read the book and look for even the tiniest of details. Yes, I know that every possible aspect cannot be put into the movie. Still, I noticed a few things that I wish they would have altered, like Harry and Ginny's relationship. They never break up! I think that he should have broken up with her (like in the book). And after the wedding crashing of the Death Eaters and he is separted from Ginny, if Harry really did like her that much, he would have mentioned her again or something.
 I wish they would have added Dumbledore's funeral. I think that would have been a nice touch maybe at the beginning, which was an excellent start for the movie, I must say (the beginning of the film).
Oh, and the little "dance" scene between Harry and Hermoine was a little odd, to be honest. Yes, I know that he was trying to cheer her up and see her smile. But it might confuse people that maybe they like each other or something! It was just kind of weird how in the midst of this really serious movie, they start dancing! Oh well, it was cute and took the tension off everything, I suppose. That's about it, really. This stuff didn't/or wouldn't alter the film in any way, really.
Oh, I almost forgot! I'm so glad they put "George losing his ear" into the film, and he wa able to say his "saintlike...I'm holey Fred, get it?", which was one of my favorite quotes in the book!! Also, when Ron and Harry attempt to destory the Horcrux, that was excellently depicted...a little creepy and disturbing, indeed, but nonetheless, had me freaked out with satisfaction!
Also, I really wanted to see the letter that was written by Harry's mom addressed to Sirius, which Harry found in Grimmauld Place. I just really wanted to see what they could do with that scenario-I thought it should have been included in the movie-maybe even throw in the Lupin-yelling scene where he asks to join them.
Also, they didn't exactly elaborate much on the Deathly Hallows at all. They basically mention it one time at Mr. Lovegood's house, and then after that, nada. I would have liked to have seen maybe Harry making the connection between his invisibility cloak & the one in the story, and perhaps something leading from there. But, they act from there on as if the Deathly Hallows really has no reference to Voldemort at all.

The acting was phenomnal in this film! The best I have ever seen of Daniel Radcliff, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. Just incredible performances. These roles in the Deathly Hallows were alot more complex and difficult for these actors to face, due to the very intense and challenging aspects Harry, Ron and Hermonie face. It really pushed and tried them as actors, but they delievered fantastic performances, and did not leave me disappointed.
 These roles for this film were hard, but they did an excellent job!
I just have to say, one of the most talented actresses has had little recognition, as far as I have noticed. She may have just been introduced into the movies with very little screen time, but every time she approaches on screen, she sends chills down my spine. You can almost feel the evil and pyschotity well off of her. Helena Bonham Carter...just wow. Her role as the degranged Bellatrix Lestrange just amazes me-she does a fantastic job, more than fantastic, for that matter.
All the other actors, (Fred, George, Mr. & Mrs. Weasley, Lupin, Tonks, Mundungus, Mad-Eye, Ginny, Kingsley, Bill, Fleur, Voldemort, the Death Eaters)-were also very good.

Overall, the film was very good, with a few things I wish they could have added. It really was a terrific movie, and cannot wait until Part 2.
A-